UN may put forward int'l flotilla probe

Ban proposes investigation despite establishment of Terkel Committee.

Israel responded coolly Wednesday to indications that despite the establishment
of the Terkel Committee to investigate the Gaza flotilla, UN Secretary General
Ban Ki-moon was still considering the establishment of an international panel to
look into the May 31 IDF raid.

Ban’s office proposed the idea at a
closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council on Tuesday, and a spokesperson in
his office said the office was currently involved in talks to determine the
potential leadership of such a commission.

Both Israel and Turkey would
be encouraged to actively participate in the panel, representatives of Ban’s
office said Wednesday.

“The secretary-general is in discussions with different parties to see whether
an inquiry with credible international involvement can be accepted by all,” the
spokesperson said.

A senior Israeli official noted that Ban did not make
any recommendation, but that this was only a “proposal.”

“Israel believes
that our investigations meet the highest international standards of
impartiality, comprehensiveness, transparency and professionalism,” the official
said.

Israel currently has three independent investigations into the
incident – an IDF inquiry headed by Maj.-Gen. (res.) Giora Eiland; the
Terkel Committee that was established on Monday; and a state comptroller
investigation.

UN envoy: Ban still looking into probe idea

On Tuesday, Robert Serry, the UN’s special envoy to the
Middle East, said that Ban was still looking into the idea of a UN
investigation.

“The Secretary-General has taken note of Israel’s
announcement and recognizes that a thorough Israeli investigation is important,
and could be consistent with the Secretary-General’s own proposals for an
international panel – the two combined would fully meet the international
community’s expectation for a credible and impartial investigation,” he said, in
a statement.

“The Secretary-General’s proposal is not incompatible with
domestic inquiries, in fact, the two approaches are complementary, so his
proposal, accordingly, remains on the table,” he said.

Serry also told
the UN Security Council on Tuesday that Israel has agreed to release the cargo
from the boats barred from reaching Gaza to UN “on the understanding that it is
for the United Nations to determine its appropriate humanitarian use in
Gaza.”

Israel had previously attempted to convey the 70 truckloads of
confiscated goods to Gaza, but Hamas had refused to allow them
in.

Security cabinet meets on Gaza blockade

Meanwhile, the security cabinet met Wednesday to discuss easing
restrictions on what is allowed into Gaza. It is expected to finish the
discussion on Thursday with an agreement to draw up a list of goods prohibited
from entering Gaza, rather than a list of good permitted into the area, and to
agree that construction material can be allowed in for earmarked projects if
mechanisms are in place to ensure that they are not diverted to Hamas’s
use.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe
Ya’alon, at odds over government coordination during the flotilla episode,
clashed in the meeting over Barak’s suggestion that Israel deflect the world’s
criticism over the flotilla incident by launching a far-reaching diplomatic
initiative.

Such a move, he argued, would also make it easier for the US
to help Israel out of its isolation.

Ya’alon said it was clear that Barak
would push to relieve Israel’s international isolation by coming up with a
widespread diplomatic initiative.

Ya’alon has made clear in recent days
that he is against Israel making diplomatic concessions because of the difficult
straits the country finds itself in now because of the flotilla
incident.

Terkel Committee meetings to be held in Hebrew

The Terkel Committee held an organization session on Wednesday,
where it was decided that the committee’s hearings will be held in Hebrew, with
simultaneous translation for the two international observers, David Trimble and
Ken Watkin. Neither man has yet arrived in the country.

It was also
agreed that the committee’s hearings would begin as soon as possible,
and that a
spokesman for the committee would be appointed in a matter of
days.

Amnesty disappointed with probe decision

Amnesty International responded with disappointment to the
cabinet’s appointment of a committee to investigate the Gaza flotilla
affair.

This was a missed opportunity,” said Malcolm Smart, the
head of the Middle East and North Africa division of Amnesty
International.

Smart criticized the Israeli flotilla probe committee on
the grounds that it lacked sufficient independence from the government
to reach
meaningful conclusions and that the findings of the committee would be
unusable
for future legal actions.

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